New York Bight Ocean Current Direction and Speed Measurements from 1978

59 days of ocean current direction and speed measurements were collected from fixed platforms in the New York Bight area. The National Ocean Service gathered this data in support of the MESA New York Bight project, processing it to the NODC F005 standard format. Data collection occurred from June 20 to August 17, 1978.

Use Cases

• Analyzing current direction and speed time series to characterize tidal and residual flow patterns in the New York Bight.
• Correlating reported water temperature and salinity data with current measurements to study density-driven currents.
• Using sensor depth and water depth fields to analyze vertical current shear and near-bottom flow dynamics.
• Investigating relationships between reported wind direction/speed and surface current responses.
• Validating numerical ocean circulation models against in-situ Eulerian current measurements from fixed moorings.

Strengths

• Data represents the Eulerian method of current measurement from fixed moorings, providing a stable reference point.
• Measurements include current direction and speed at specified date and time, typically at 10-15 minute intervals.
• The F005 standard format includes fields for position, water depth, and sensor depth for spatial context.

Limitations

• Temporal coverage is limited to a 59-day period in summer 1978, lacking seasonal or long-term data.
• Specific row count, geographic coordinates, and the full set of measured parameters (e.g., salinity, waves) for this accession are unknown.
• Data is over 45 years old, and sensor technology and processing standards have advanced significantly since.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), originating from the National Ocean Service.

Collection Method

Collected from fixed platforms using moored current-measuring instruments, principally Aanderaa current meters.

Time Range

1978-06-20 to 1978-08-17

Freshness

Data collection ended on 1978-08-17.

Geography

New York Bight area (specific coordinates unknown from input).